19a. ואי ס"ד דלא ידעי כי אמר להו מאי הוי אלא מאי דידעי למה לי' למימר להו לאחזוקי ליה טיבותא למשה,אמר רבי יצחק כל המספר אחרי המת כאלו מספר אחרי האבן איכא דאמרי דלא ידעי ואיכא דאמרי דידעי ולא איכפת להו,איני והא אמר רב פפא חד אישתעי מילתא בתריה דמר שמואל ונפל קניא מטללא ובזעא לארנקא דמוחיה,שאני צורבא מרבנן דקודשא בריך הוא תבע ביקריה,אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי כל המספר אחר מטתן של תלמידי חכמים נופל בגיהנם שנא' (תהלים קכה, ה) והמטים עקלקלותם יוליכם ה' את פועלי האון שלום על ישראל אפילו בשעה ששלום על ישראל יוליכם ה' את פועלי האון,תנא דבי ר' ישמעאל אם ראית תלמיד חכם שעבר עבירה בלילה אל תהרהר אחריו ביום שמא עשה תשובה שמא סלקא דעתך אלא ודאי עשה תשובה והני מילי בדברים שבגופו אבל בממונא עד דמהדר למריה:,ואמר ר' יהושע בן לוי בכ"ד מקומות בית דין מנדי' על כבוד הרב וכולן שנינו במשנתנו אמר ליה ר' אלעזר היכא אמר ליה לכי תשכח,נפק דק ואשכח תלת המזלזל בנטילת ידים והמספר אחר מטתן של תלמידי חכמי' והמגיס דעתו כלפי מעלה,המספר אחר מטתן של תלמידי חכמים מאי היא דתנן הוא היה אומר אין משקין לא את הגיורת ולא את המשוחררת וחכמים אומרים משקין ואמרו לו מעשה בכרכמית שפחה משוחררת בירושלים והשקוה שמעיה ואבטליון ואמר להם דוגמא השקוה ונדוהו ומת בנדויו וסקלו בית דין את ארונו,והמזלזל בנטילת ידים מאי היא דתנן א"ר יהודה חס ושלום שעקביא בן מהללאל נתנדה שאין עזרה ננעלת על כל אדם בישראל בחכמה ובטהרה וביראת חטא כעקביא בן מהללאל אלא את מי נדו את אלעזר בן חנוך שפקפק בנטילת ידים וכשמת שלחו בית דין והניחו אבן גדולה על ארונו ללמדך שכל המתנדה ומת בנדויו ב"ד סוקלין את ארונו,המגיס דעתו כלפי מעלה מאי היא דתנן שלח לו שמעון בן שטח לחוני המעגל צריך אתה להתנדות ואלמלא חוני אתה גוזרני עליך נדוי אבל מה אעשה שאתה מתחטא לפני המקום ועושה לך רצונך כבן שמתחטא לפני אביו ועושה לו רצונו ועליך הכתוב אומר (משלי כג, כה) ישמח אביך ואמך ותגל יולדתך,ותו ליכא והא איכא דתני רב יוסף תודוס איש רומי הנהיג את בני רומי להאכילן גדיים מקולסין בלילי פסחים שלח ליה שמעון בן שטח אלמלא תודוס אתה גוזרני עליך נדוי שאתה מאכיל את ישראל קדשים בחוץ,במשנתנו קאמרינן והא ברייתא היא,ובמתני' ליכא והא איכא הא דתנן חתכו חוליות ונתן חול בין חוליא לחוליא ר' אליעזר מטהר וחכמים מטמאים וזהו תנורו של עכנאי,מאי עכנאי אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל מלמד שהקיפוהו הלכות כעכנאי זה וטמאוהו,ותניא אותו היום הביאו כל טהרות שטיהר ר"א ושרפום לפניו ולבסוף ברכוהו,אפילו הכי נדוי במתני' לא תנן אלא בכ"ד מקומות היכא משכחת לה ר' יהושע בן לוי מדמה מילתא למילתא ור' אלעזר לא מדמה מילתא למילתא:, נושאי המטה וחלופיהן: ת"ר אין מוציאין את המת סמוך לק"ש ואם התחילו אין מפסיקין איני והא רב יוסף אפקוהו סמוך לק"ש אדם חשוב שאני:,שלפני המטה ושלאחר המטה: ת"ר העוסקים בהספד בזמן שהמת מוטל לפניהם נשמטין אחד אחד וקורין אין המת מוטל לפניהם הן יושבין וקורין והוא יושב ודומם הם עומדים ומתפללין והוא עומד ומצדיק עליו את הדין ואומר רבון העולמים הרבה חטאתי לפניך ולא נפרעת ממני אחד מני אלף יהי רצון מלפניך ה' אלהינו שתגדור פרצותינו ופרצות כל עמך בית ישראל ברחמים,אמר אביי לא מבעי ליה לאינש למימר הכי דארשב"ל וכן תנא משמיה דרבי יוסי לעולם אל יפתח אדם פיו לשטן,ואמר רב יוסף מאי קראה שנאמר (ישעיהו א, ט) כמעט כסדום היינו מאי אהדר להו נביא שמעו דבר ה' קציני סדום:,קברו את המת וחזרו וכו': אם יכולים להתחיל ולגמור את כולה אין אבל פרק אחד או פסוק אחד לא ורמינהו קברו את המת וחזרו אם יכולין להתחיל ולגמור אפילו פרק אחד או פסוק אחד,הכי נמי קאמר אם יכולין להתחיל ולגמור אפי' פרק אחד או אפילו פסוק אחד עד שלא יגיעו לשורה יתחילו ואם לאו לא יתחילו | 19a. bAnd if it should enter your mind thatthe dead bdo not know, then what of it if he tells them?The Gemara rejects this: bRather whatwill you say, bthatthey bknow?Then bwhy does heneed bto tell them?The Gemara replies: This is not difficult, as he is telling them so that bthey will give credit to Moses. /b,On this subject, bRabbi Yitzḥak said: Anyone who speaksnegatively bafter the deceased it is as ifhe bspeaks after the stone.The Gemara offers two interpretations of this: bSome saythis is because the dead bdo not know, and some saythat bthey know,but bthey do not carethat they are spoken of in such a manner.,The Gemara asks: bIs that so? Didn’t Rav Pappa say:There was once bsomeone who spokedisparagingly bafterthe death of bMar Shmuel and a reed fell from the ceiling, fracturing his skull?Obviously, the dead care when people speak ill of them.,The Gemara rejects this: This is no proof that the dead care. Rather, a bTorah scholar is different, as GodHimself bdemandsthat bhis honorbe upheld.,Rabbi Yehoshua bben Levi saidsimilarly: bOne who speaksdisparagingly bafter the biers of Torah scholarsand maligns them after their death will bfall in Gehenna, as it is stated: “But those who turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity; peace be upon Israel”(Psalms 125:5). bEvenif he speaks ill of them bwhen there is peace upon Israel,after death, when they are no longer able to fight those denouncing them ( iTosafot /i); nevertheless bthe Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity,to Gehenna.,On a similar note, bit was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: If you saw aTorah bscholar transgress a prohibition at night, do not thinkbadly bof him during the day; perhaps he has repentedin the meantime. The Gemara challenges this: bDoes it enter your mindthat only bperhapshe has repented? Shouldn’t he be given the benefit of the doubt? bRather, he has certainly repented.The Gemara notes: bThe ideathat one must always give a Torah scholar the benefit of the doubt and assume that he has repented refers specifically to bmattersaffecting bhimself, but,if one witnesses a Torah scholar committing a transgression binvolving the propertyof another, one is not required to give him the benefit of the doubt. Rather, he should not assume that he has repented buntilhe sees him breturnthe money to bits owner. /b,Since matters relating to the respect due Torah scholars were raised, the Gemara continues, citing bRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi,who bsaid: There are twenty-four places in which the court ostracizes overmatters of brespectdue bthe rabbi, and we learned them all in our Mishna. Rabbi Elazar said to him: Whereare those cases to be found? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi bsaid to him: Whenyou look, byouwill bfindthem., bHe went out, analyzed, and found threeexamples: bOne who demeansthe ritual of bwashing of the hands, one who speaksdisparagingly bafter the bier of Torah scholars, and one who is arrogant vis-à-vis Heaven.The Gemara cites sources for each of these cases., bWhat isthe source for bone who speaksdisparagingly bafter the biers of Torah scholars? As we learnedin the mishna: Akavya ben Mahalalel bwould say:In the case of a woman whose husband suspects her of adultery, who was warned by her husband not to seclude herself with another man and she did not listen (see Numbers 5), the court bdoes not administerthe bitter water potion of a isotato ba convert or an emancipatedmaidservant. bAnd the Rabbis say:The court badministersthe bitter water potion to them. bAndthe Rabbis bsaid to himas proof: bThere is the story of Kharkemit, an emancipated maidservant in Jerusalem, and Shemaya and Avtalyon administered herthe bitter waters. Akavya ben Mahalalel bsaid tothe Sages: That is no proof. Shemaya and Avtalyon, who were also from families of converts, required the maidservant bto drinkthe potion because she was blike them [ idugma /i]. Andsince Akavya ben Mahalalel cast aspersion on the deceased Torah scholars, bhe was ostracized and diedwhile bhewas still under the ban of bostracism. Andin accordance with the ihalakhawith regard to one who dies while under a ban of ostracism, the court bstoned his coffin.Apparently, one who deprecates a deceased Torah scholar is sentenced to ostracism.,And bwhat isthe source for bone who demeansthe ritual of bwashing of the hands? We learnedlater in the same mishna: bRabbi Yehuda said:That story related with regard to the ostracism of Akavya ben Mahalalel is completely untrue; bGod forbid that Akavya ben Mahalalel was ostracized, as the Temple courtyard is not closed on any Jew,meaning that even when all of Israel made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, when each of the three groups that gathered to offer the Paschal lamb filled the courtyard, leading the Temple administration to close the courtyard, there was no one there as perfect bin wisdom, purity and fear of sin as Akavya ben Mahalalel. Rather, whom did they excommunicate? Elazar ben Ḥanokh,because he bdoubtedand demeaned the rabbinic ordice of bwashing of the hands. And when he died, the court sentinstructions band they placed a large rock upon his coffinin order bto teach you that one who is ostracized and dies ina state of bostracism, the court stones his coffin,as if symbolically stoning him. Apparently, one who makes light of the ritual of washing of the hands is sentenced to ostracism., bWhat isthe source for the third case, bone who is arrogant vis-à-vis Heaven?The mishna relates that Ḥoni HaMe’aggel, the circle-drawer, drew a circle and stood inside it, and said that he would not leave the circle until it rained, and he went so far as to make demands in terms of the manner in which he wanted the rain to fall. After it rained, bShimon ben Shataḥ,the iNasiof the Sanhedrin, relayed to bḤoni HaMe’aggel:Actually, byou should be ostracizedfor what you said, band if you were not Ḥoni, I would have decreed ostracism upon you, but what can I do? You nag God and He does your bidding, like a son who nags his father andhis father bdoes his biddingwithout reprimand. After all, the rain fell as you requested. bAbout you, the verse states: “Your father and mother will be glad and she who bore you will rejoice”(Proverbs 23:25). Apparently, one who is arrogant vis-à-vis Heaven would ordinarily merit excommunication.,The Gemara challenges this: bAnd are there no morecases of excommunication or threats of excommunication? bSurely there areadditional cases like the one in the ibaraita btaught by Rav Yosef:It is told that bTheodosius of Rome,leader of the Jewish community there, binstituted the custom for the RomanJews bto eat whole kids,young goats roasted with their entrails over their heads, as was the custom when roasting the Paschal lamb, bon the eve of Passover,as they did in the Temple. bShimon ben Shataḥ senta message bto him: If you were not Theodosius,an important person, bI would have decreed ostracism upon you, asit appears as if byou are feeding Israel consecrated food,which may only be eaten in and around the Temple itself, boutsidethe Temple.,The Gemara responds: This case should not be included, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that there were twenty-four cases bin our Mishna,and bthis ismerely ba ibaraita /i. /b,The Gemara asks: bAnd are there none in the Mishna? Isn’t there that which we learnedin the mishna: bOnewho bcutan earthenware oven horizontally bintoring-shaped bpieces and put sand between the pieces, Rabbi Eliezer deemsthe oven britually pure,i.e., it is no longer susceptible to ritual impurity. He holds that, although the fragments of the oven were pieced together, it is not considered an intact vessel but, rather, as a collection of fragments, and a broken earthenware vessel cannot become ritually impure. bAnd the Rabbis deem it ritually impure.Since the oven continues to serve its original function, it is still considered a single entity and a whole vessel despite the sand put between the pieces. bAnd this iscalled bthe oven of iakhnai /i, snake. /b,The Gemara asks: bWhat isthe meaning of oven of the bsnake? Rav Yehuda saidthat bShmuel said:It is called snake bto teach thatthe Rabbis bsurroundedRabbi Eliezer bwith ihalakhotand proofs blike a snakesurrounds its prey, band declaredthe oven and its contents britually impure. /b, bAnd it was taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOn that day, they gathered allof bthe ritually purefood items that had come into contact with the oven bthat Rabbi Eliezer had declared ritually pure, and burned them before him,and because he did not accept the decision of the majority, bin the end they “blessed,”a euphemism for ostracized, bhim.This is another case that ended in ostracism.,The Gemara answers: bEven so, we did not learnthe ruling with regard to his bostracism in the mishna.The Gemara asks: Then bwhere do you findthe btwenty-four placesmentioned in Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s statement? The Gemara responds: bRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi likens one matter to anothersimilar bmatter.Whenever he would encounter a case in a mishna where one of the Sages expressed himself inappropriately in reference to other Sages, he concluded that they should have been excommunicated. bRabbi Elazar does not liken one matter to anothersimilar bmatter,and therefore located only three explicit cases of ostracism.,We learned in the mishna that bthe pallbearers and their replacementsare exempt from the recitation of iShema /i. On this subject, the Gemara cites that which the bSages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bThe deceased may not be taken outto be buried badjacent tothe time for bthe recitation of iShema /i,but should be buried later. bAnd if theyalready bstartedto take him out, bthey need not stopin order to recite iShema /i. The Gemara challenges: bIs that so? Didn’t they take Rav Yosef outto be buried badjacent tothe time for bthe recitation of iShema /i?The Gemara resolves this contradiction: The case of ban important person is different,and they are more lenient in order to honor him at his burial.,In the mishna, we learned the ihalakhawith regard to the pallbearers and their obligation to recite iShema /i, and a distinction was made between those bwho are before the bier andthose bafter the bier. Our Rabbis taughtin a ibaraita /i: bThose involved in eulogy must slip awayfrom the eulogy bone by one while the deceased is laid out before them and recite iShemaelsewhere. And bif the deceased is not laid out before them,the eulogizers must bsit and recite iShema bwhilethe bereaved bsits silently. They stand and pray and he stands and justifies God’s judgment, saying: Master of the Universe, I have sinned greatly against You, and You have not collected even one one-thousandthof my debt. bMay it be Your will, Lord our God, to mercifully repair the breaches in ourfence band the breaches of Your nation, the House of Israel. /b, bAbaye said: A person should not say that, as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, and it was also taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: One must never open his mouth to the Satan,i.e., one must not leave room for or raise the possibility of disaster or evil. This formula, which states that the entire debt owed due to his transgressions has not been collected, raises the possibility that further payment will be exacted from him., bAnd Rav Yosef said: What is the versefrom which bitis derived? bAs it is stated: “We should have almost been as Sodom,we should have been like unto Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9), after which bwhat didthe prophet breply to them? “Hear the word of the Lord, rulers of Sodom;give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10).,We learned in the mishna that, in a case when bthey buried the deceased and returned,if they have sufficient time to begin to recite iShemaand conclude before they arrive at the row formed by those who came to console the bereaved, they should begin. Here, the Gemara clarifies: This is the case only bif they can begin and completerecitation of iShema bin its entirety. However,if they can only complete bone chapter or one verse,they should bnotstop to do so. The Gemara braises a contradictionfrom that which we learned in the ibaraita /i: After bthey buried the deceased and returned, if they can beginthe recitation of iShema band finish even a single chapter or verse,they should begin.,The Gemara responds: bThat is also whatthe itannaof the mishna bsaidand this is the conclusion drawn from his statement: bIf one can begin and conclude even one chapter or one verse before they arrive at the rowof consolers, bthey should begin. And if not, they should not begin. /b |